Green Walls in the Year of Greenery

The Green Movement reaches the fashion world.

Whether called Green Walls, Vertical Gardens, or Biowalls these vegetative elements bring nature to interior environments in new and innovative ways. From science buildings on university campuses to retail shopping centers these living walls become tapestry like by creating varying patterns, textures and colors on a monumental scale. Because they are vertical and wall mounted they integrate into the architecture and not added as afterthoughts as planters and pots so often are.

Some of these walls are functional, filtering and purifying the environments air by as much as 25% and reducing the need for exterior fresh air by as much as two-thirds. Some of the walls are merely aesthetic enhancing environments by banishing banal, blank, white walls devoid of any memorable features. The emergence of green walls brings together several trends, the emphasis on sustainable and energy-efficient buildings and the movement toward biophilic/ biomimicry buildings that create healthier environments.

On trend, Pantone’s 2017 Color of the Year is Greenery, a yellow-green shade that is reminiscent of spring. It’s bright, fresh and well natural. Green is natures neutral. While orange has been on the forefront of color trends for a decade I envision a shift to this shade of green in the next decade. Not the avocado of the fifties nor the teal of the eighties, but fresh and lively, an antidote to the complex times that we live in. The fashion world, a leading style indicator, has picked up on this trend and this springs runways are full of bright and lively shades of green.

Bottom Line: As 2017 begins, and winter has descended across the country, we are spending more time indoors. So it’s a great time to consider how the environments within which we live/ work/ play could be enhanced by both plants and color. Heres to a healthy, happy and Greenery new year!